Screens, such as those used in doors and windows to keep insects out of homes and the like, have been used for many years. It is well known that screens are very likely to be punctured or ruptured by some object that may inadvertantly come into contact with the screen. Such punctures or ruptures obviously greatly reduce the effectiveness of the screen in preventing insects from entering a dwelling. In addition, the cost and inconvenience of replacing such screens is not minimal. Furthermore, it is not efficient to replace an entire screen when only a portion of the screen has been damaged. Consequently, it is not surprising that in the past attempts have been made to provide some means of repairing a screen or the like that can increase its useful life.
Some of these devices for repairing window or door screens and the like are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,324,845; 1,749,755; 1,792,594; 1,927,826; 2,272,196; 2,283,803; 2,397,646 and 2,487,830. A review of these patents indicates that they disclose various types of devices for repairing window and door screens and the like that utilize a woven-type material that is similar to the woven-type screen material that is to be repaired. This woven wire-type screen repairing material can be of the same gauge and mesh as that of the screen that is to be repaired or it may be of a different size. Certain of the patents disclose patches in which portions of the woven-type material itself is utilized in securing the woven patch to the screen that is to be repaired. This true, for instance, with U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,324,845; 1,792,594; 2,272,196 and 2,283,803. Some of the other patents disclose a screen patch or the like that has some type of border or fastening arrangement that is different from the wire mesh patch. The patents numbered U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,749,755 and 1,927,826, for instance, disclose this type of screen patch.
Other patents such as numbers U.S. Pat. No. 2,397,646 and 2,487,830 disclose wire mesh or mesh type patches that are affixed to the screen that is to be repaired either through the use of heat or by passing electric current through the screen that causes the patch to be affixed to the screen that is to be repaired. This type of screen patch, of course, requires a great deal more skill and effort to attach than the previously discussed screen patches that are disclosed in the aforementioned patents.
All of the patches disclosed in the previously mentioned patents suffer some serious disadvantages. First of all, it takes some degree of skill to properly apply these patches to the screen that is to be repaired. In addition, they leave a screen that has obviously been repaired and in most, if not all instances, is unattractive.
Through the use of this invention it is now possible to overcome these disadvantages associated with the prior art screen patches. This is possible since the current invention is quickly and easily attachable to the screen that is to be repaired without the need for any special skills or equipment. Moreover, the invention does not leave any unattractively repaired area since it actually decorates the screen and partially or totally obscures the area that has been repaired on the screen.